Reincarnated as a Failed Villain: Fallen Angel-Chapter 63 Arc 2 - God Of Curses, Lucas!
"He wasn't a god... He was an angel." Lucas muttered in shock, as he placed his hand on top of the statue. He gently brushed off some dust that clung to the surface and leaned closer, inspecting every inch of its features. When the dust cleared, he found words written in the English language.
[I may forget, but my grudge will remain; I may descend, but I will conquer the abyss and rise again.]
His eyes widened at what he found. "That's quite... cringe," Lucas whispered to himself. The inscription was a last quote said by a Red-eyed god... or in other words, a former angel.
Alena walked around the room, admiring the beauty of the drawings on the walls. She was fascinated by the intricate details engraved on each one of them. They depicted various scenes of an angel fighting demons and evil spirits.
She gasped at the sight of a drawing depicting demonic armies led by a human wizard being slain by a single angel who flew overhead with swords drawn. She tried reading the quote below but couldn't understand the letters.
[My blade has never drawn a drop of human blood, but I can feel yours on its edge today.]
"My blade has never drawn a drop of human blood, but I can feel yours on its edge today." Lucas placed his hands on her shoulder and read the quote aloud. "It's amazing. No one ever told me there was another angel in Lightburn." Lucas paused for a second and added, "I wonder if he was from Earth as well, the writings are in English."
"Earth? English?" Alena questioned. "I never heard of that place and language. Is it some sort of ancient place filled with mystery?"
"Mystery, huh?" Lucas exclaimed. "Yesterday, I would have said no. But looking at these drawings and everything written here... I am starting to doubt myself."
"W-What?" she couldn't understand what Lucas meant, but he wasn't too bothered to answer her.
Lucas walked away, inspecting the rest of the drawings. The one that interested him the most was an angel fighting a god. The two fought in space, and a large yellow star was in the background. Both angel and the god were clashing with each other with swords. God used what looked like a holy glowing sword, while the angel used what people consider a cursed burning black sword with a red eye growing on its hilt.
"Is this Isaac?" Lucas questioned when he noticed god's youthful appearance and golden eyes. Lucas could see a message etched onto the stone; it was covered in dust, so Lucas cleared it so he could read.
[You shall be my witness as I all your sins will burn in hellfire.]
"Hmm..." Lucas examined the sentence carefully and muttered. "Yup, he was an angel for sure."
"Hey, Mr. Lucas!" Alena called out to him from behind.
Lucas spun around to find Alena running toward him with wide-open eyes. He watched as she approached and grabbed hold of his arm, trying to pull him away from the drawings. Her fingers dug into his skin as she pulled him along.
"We should go!" she yelled, dragging him away from the drawings.
Lucas frowned as she dragged him away. "What's wrong?"
"Someone's coming here..." Alena muttered as they reached the exit. "They killed the guardian."
Alena's words sent a cold shiver down Lucas' spine. "Who?" he whispered in shock.
"There's a couple of dozen adventurers from the Holy kingdom outside." her voice trembled as she muttered. "W-We made a mistake coming here. Now... Now..." she stuttered as tears slowly dropped to her cheeks. "Now they followed us here."
"Without the creature, the temple is visible to the outsiders? Right?" Lucas asked for confirmation as he pulled his hand away from Alena.
"Y-Yes. They probably waited for years... Stalking for when someone would enter the temple." She nodded weakly, grabbing his hand again and holding on tightly to him. "T-They will kill us for being heretics."
Lucas sighed heavily, feeling guilty about the situation. "I'm sorry, Alena. It's my fault." he shook her hand off again and placed his hand on her shoulder. "But if you let me go alone to them... I will protect you and this temple."
Lucas's smile was comforting. However, his true intention was to use this temple as his own lair whenever he wanted to revive the dead. This place was too good to let be destroyed, so he decided to protect it even if it meant that the Holy kingdom waged war against him.
"After all, I am another Red-eyed god," Lucas smirked. "Different person, but same deity," he explained without revealing that he and the Red-eyed God were angels. "It's my duty to protect the temple that was created for my predecessor."
"A-Alright." Alena nodded her head.
Lucas's explanation sounded convincing enough to Alena, who looked at Lucas with hope in her eyes. But just then, a loud explosion echoed throughout the cave, and a group of armored warriors marched into the chamber. Their helmets protected their faces, and each warrior wore heavy armor. Each one carried a sword or spear at his side. There must've been twenty of them altogether, including five archers positioned on top of a nearby rock formation.
The party leader walked straight past Alena and Lucas, stopping at the edge of the cave where he faced Lucas with a stern expression etched on his face as he looked at the drawings. 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂
"Excuse me, sir!~Are you the one responsible for destroying the guardian?" Lucas asked as he innocently tilted his head. "Or are you here because you're a believer of mine?" Lucas asked as his eyes began glowing so bright that, for a moment, they illuminated the entire room.
The party leader's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in disbelief as he glared at Lucas. His nostrils flared, and beads of sweat formed on his brow. His shock quickly turned to anger, and he snarled, "What the hell?" He couldn't believe the menacing, red eyes staring him down.
The adventurers scanned the area, their eyes searching desperately as they spoke in hushed tones. Fear was etched on every face. Suddenly one of the men let out a loud cry, his voice echoing off the temple walls. "Hey! What's going on? T-That god actually exists?!" His finger trembled as he pointed to a Lucas whose red eyes glinted in the darkness.
"C-Could that be the Red-Eyed god?!" another voice chimed in.
"Is it an illusion made by this temple?!" another yelled, his voice filled with dread.
Lucas stood motionless as every head in the room swiveled to face him. His jaw was set firm, and his fists were balled tightly. He made direct eye contact with each person, unblinking and unafraid as if he could see through their souls' depths.
"Whoa..." The party leader gasped, stunned by what they'd seen. He raised his spear and stepped backward with caution. "The only god that exists is the Holy god!" he yelled, raising his voice above the crowd.
"That's right! You should know better after your long journey!" another adventurer chimed in, looking around the room curiously.
The party leader glared at Lucas and spat venomously. "You think you can fool everyone?! The only god that exists is our lord, Holy God." he bellowed, drawing attention from the rest of the group.
"Oh yeah?" Lucas chuckled at their ignorance. He wondered what Isaac would think about his believers acting like a bunch of barbarians. "Isaac, right?" suddenly, pair of dark feathered wings appeared on Lucas's back, similar to the paintings on the wall. His body released dark mana liquid, which turned into solid armor. "Trust me. There are many more divine beings than holy god." Lucas's voice turned deep, and when he opened his mouth, there was a single red eye inside it which was looking at everyone's within the room sins. He released strong bloodlust that made all adventurers shiver.
The adventurers grew silent as they watched Lucas intently. They held their weapons tightly and looked around cautiously, afraid that this was a trap.
"Oh, hell no!" an adventurer exclaimed as he panicked and ran away. "Shit! I thought this thing was a myth!"
"Deserter!" The party leader yelled in rage, and the air around his clenched fist suddenly froze. In a swift motion, he flung the massive icicle he had just formed in the direction of the running adventurer. But before it could reach its intended target, a black feather flew in and crashed right into the center of the icicle, causing it to shatter into a flurry of tiny snowflakes.
Lucas laughed mockingly. "Hey, you shouldn't punish him for having brains!" Lucas said with a smile, pointing at Isaac, who tried to sneak out of the room. "I'm sure he'll come back once we've dealt with this thing."
The adventurer party leader's face twisted in anger as he shouted, waving his hands wildly in the air. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his breathing was rapid. "Don't tell me you actually believe in this nonsense! It must be a trick!" His party members shrunk back, cowed by his rage.
"How about this trick?" Lucas asked and opened his mouth, and the adventurers watched in horror as thick, black smoke of mana billowed out, filling the room and choking the air. Everywhere they looked, the darkness seemed to creep, winding its way around them until it was too dense to see.
"Alena stared up at the figure hovering in the air with a mix of admiration and terror. His wingspan was vast, the feathers glinting in the light as he flew around the room.
His eyes, like two burning rubies, were arresting. His every move had an aura of power, and there was no denying his breathtaking beauty. Alena had heard stories about the red-eyed God, but seeing him in person was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She felt her heart skip a beat when his wings flapped, and against her better judgment, she gasped, "Glorious red-eyed god...No. God of curses, Lucas!" before dropping to her knees in awe.
